The Mysteries and Eastern Christianity

After I had posted a few photos taken during the Baptism, Chrismation, and first Communion of my youngest son (age three), a reader asked:

I always wondered about the tradition in Eastern Christianity (both Orthodox and Catholic) of administering all three sacraments of initiation at once. Will your son then be able to receive Holy Communion whenever he attends Mass from now on, or will he have to wait until the "age of reason" (approximately age 7-8) before he can receive it again? Also, would it be correct to assume that in the Eastern tradition, there is no separate sacrament of Confirmation at a later age, since Chrismation was already conferred at baptism? It would be interesting to know how and why the Eastern and Western traditions diverged regarding the conferring of the sacraments of initiation.

Once a child receives the three mysteries—"mysteries" being the more common name for the sacraments in the East—he can receive Holy Communion from that time forward. The age of reason has nothing to do with the reception of Holy Communion in the East. Chrismation is the sacrament of confirmation: "The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. In Christian initiation, anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation, called "chrismation" in the Churches of the East" (CCC, par. 695).

Why do the East and West differ as to when the sacraments of confirmation and Holy Eucharist are given to children? In the early Church, it was common practice for babies to be baptized, chrismated, and then receive Communion (however, it should be kept in mind that the sacrament of christmation/confirmation has a long and complicated history). Two different customs developed: in the West, bishops generally became the ministers of confirmation, while in the East, priests were generally the ministers of the the sacrament, using the chrism oil blessed by the bishop. There was also the issue of the "age of reason" as it related to the sacrament of confession; in the West, this eventually led to children not receiving first Communion until they had gone to confession, which meant they had to be of a certain age (usually seven) before reception of Eucharist.

While the East has maintained the older practice of chrismating immediately following baptism, confirmation in the West was/is administered at different ages, with the sacraments of initiation given in the same order: baptism, confirmation, and Holy Communion, with the latter two delayed to a later age. About a hundred year ago, Piux X desired for children to receive Communion at an age earlier than was typical at the time (early teens). So Communion was moved to an earlier age ("age of reason"), while confirmation was not moved. The usual practice has been to administer the sacrament of confirmation during the teen years, but there is increased interest in administering it at a much younger age, in part because it makes more sense theologically for confirmation to follow baptism and precede first Communion.

Comments

[Gail F]

Another great reason to move confirmation up, at least in the USA, is that many people confuse it with the various Protestant confirmations, which are when young people "decide for themselves" to be Christians and dedicate themselves to the Lord, or some variation on this. It is difficult to convince many Catholic parents and teachers that children preparing for this sacrament do not especially have to agree to be confirmed, or to do something specific to prepare for it (of course these things are desirable but they are not necessary). I have told many astonished people that the church could give this sacrament to infants but chooses not to -- sometimes they don't believe me.

[Sandra Miesel]

The change in age of First Communion ordered by St. Pius X didn't take effect right away. Even after it did, some areas retained the odd custom of the "Big Communion" celebrated with great solemnity by 12-14 year olds who had already made their First Communion at age 6 or 7.

[Matthew]

With all due respect for St. Pius X, I think this change he instituted is/was an awful idea. It has made Confirmation look like a "sacrament in search of a theology" as one theologian put it. I am very glad to see bishops starting to properly order the sacraments again. Special kudos to Bishop Alex Sample of Marquette, Mich., who re-ordered his entire diocese a couple of years ago. Now everyone receives Baptism - Confirmation - Eucharist.

[Steve Cianca]

Carl,

Thanks for answering my questions. When I was confirmed (back in the dark ages), I was in fifth grade. The theology behind confirmation then was that the reception of this sacrament meant that you were now considered an adult in the faith (receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit) and expected to defend it. At that time the bishop gave each confirmandus a ritual "slap" on the cheek to symbolize one's readiness to suffer for one's faith. We were to consider ourselves "milites Christi" --soldiers of Christ.

Matthew,

When do children now receive Confirmation/ Eucharist in your diocese?

[Fr. Richard]

Not trying to be picky here Gail, but perhaps you should say the Church DOES give this sacrament to infants. It is just in the Latin rite that this is not the present day custom, unless a child is in danger of death. (See Catechism #1306-1307). So you never have to try to convince anybody...ha! Just tell them to look it up as above, and also # 1290-1292.